The sixth MOD70, four names in ten years
Zoulou is the sixth of the seven MOD70 (Multi One Design) trimarans built by CDK Technologies to VPLP designs. Delivered on July 27, 2012, then launched on March 20, 2013 under the name Virbac Paprec 70 the boat changed hands four times and had four different identities: Paprec Recyclage (2012–2014, Jean-Pierre Dick, with Yann Eliès as skipper in the 2014 Route du Rhum), Concise10 (2015–2019, Team Concise skippered by Tony Lawson), PowerPlay (2019–2022, Peter Cunningham), then Zoulou since May 2022 under the French flag for Erik Maris.
One-design VPLP platform
All seven MOD70s come from the same mold, within 50 kg of each other. It is a one-design class built for crewed ocean racing with a crew of six.
- Length overall (LOA): 21.20 m
- Beam: 16.80 m
- Draft: 4.50 m (max, daggerboard down)
- Air draft: 29 m
- Displacement: 6.3 t
- Sail area: 300 m² upwind, 400 m² downwind
- Construction: pre-preg carbon, rotating wing mast
Compared to ORMA 60s, the class uses longer floats and a shorter mast for the same righting moment. C-foils and kick-up rudders provide lift at high speed without making the platform fly like a recent Ultim foiler.
Boat achievements
Under the French flag for Erik Maris, helmed by Ned Collier Wakefield:
- 2023 — RORC Caribbean 600: 1st in real time multihull, 30 h 55 min 11 s, 11 seconds ahead of the Multi70 Maserati skippered by Giovanni Soldini
- 2023 — Voiles de Saint-Barth: 1st multihull
- 2023 — Rolex Fastnet Race: 3rd multihull
- 2024 — RORC Caribbean 600: 2nd
- 2024 — Antigua 360: 2nd
- 2024 — RORC Transatlantic Race: 2nd behind the MOD70 Argo (2 h 32 min behind after five days of racing)
Under the name PowerPlay, the same hull holds the record for the original Fastnet course (Cowes–Fastnet–Plymouth, 595 nm) in 25 h 04 min 18 s, set in summer 2021 by Ned Collier Wakefield, nearly 3 hours under the previous record held by the Maxi Edmond de Rothschild.
